Without My Wings
by Life Is A Highway66
Summary: To destory what you fear most, you have to become what you fear most... DISCONTINUED
1. Sweet Sacrifice

**Without My Wings **by Life Is A Highway66

**Rating** T/M  
**Summary** To destroy what you fear most, you have to become what you fear most…  
**Warnings **Action, character death, violence, strong language, interspecies relationships, implied female slash, sexual references, minor scenes of rape and innuendo  
**Genre **Romance, Angst and Action  
**Further Notes  
**Okay, so, Transformers/Cars crossover… I've told BRR56 this, and I shall say it again. You do _not _have to like Star Scream, Bumble Bee (-YAY-), Optimus Prime (-YAY-), Ratchet (-YAY-), Megatron (-YAY-), Jazz (-sniffleyay-), Ironhide or _any _of the Autobots/Decepticons to enjoy this! You just need to like my writing style. Another note on the Transformers side of things (although, I order you to go watch the film now, it's so awesome!), they are _my _robots!! There is no Allspark (if you get what I'm hinting ;-D)! I am just using the idea of Cars/Robots! So, there'll be no need to flame when we get to that part of the story, will there? Also, this story is going to be a huge project for me, it's taken two months of planning (I haven't finished the definite one yet -.-) and ten different versions to come up with this. I'm always open to your criticism.   
**Character Call **I'm looking for a few characters, if we have any fans of TF in the URL (lolz) with any TF OCs (or if you can create a character… Which I'll love you for) they don't mind me manipulating, I need you! I also need some hyooman characters n.n

**Chapter Warning  
**This is ridiculously long for a first chapter, I apologise, but bear with me, okay? There'll also be some bad language at the end (Tom! He is a naughty little character x3)... Enjoy, m'dears!

* * *

Part One – **Here In The Darkness **  
**Chapter One **– Sweet Sacrifice

…_Fear Is Only In Our Minds, Taking Over All The Time_…

Light grey eyes of the fourteen-year-old girl surveyed the hall with heed, filled with bodies jumping to the music, arms held erect in the air and the roaring of guitars echoed around everyone. The room was full of harmony as everyone sang the songs they knew together, vibrations of sound exiting the speakers of the sound system. But the danger of being at the venue was high. Just fewer than a hundred people were crowded into the hall. Whether they were in the middle of the action in the centre of the hall or stood on the sidelines, intent in watching everyone; most who did this found the heat unbearable. It was the beginning of July, temperatures had already managed to reach the mid thirty's, but that did not stop Joanne Livingstone, James Riley or Tom Beech from attending their monthly get together.

Joanne was one of the few who had decided to withdraw from the excitement and hang in the sidelines – although, she decided to stand in the same place each night. She was situated next to the fire escape, opposite from the exit. She slid her hands from her hips and into her pockets, although, there were many pockets sewn onto her loose-fitting black trousers, the ends covering the tops of her skull patterned baseball boots. Those who passed her managed a smile as they saw the bands name printed around the chest of her t-shirt: _My Chemical Romance_. Although, she could only muster a quiet "hmm" to those who would have expected a returned beam, although the slight "hmm" would never have been heard by these people, the only sound which was audible was the strident rock and metal music playing from the front.

James was engulfed in the middle of the atmosphere, dancing with those he had never met before and others he had always seen at the get-togethers and had become less than friends and more than acquaintances, although, James was always like that; Joanne had always said how shame nor fear never seemed to linger on the edge of his mind. Not even whilst being in a place like _this_. He wore what most other males would have chosen to wear, trousers and shirt which you could imagine being worn in a work office, shoes excluded; he wore baseball boots just like his female friend. His hair spiked up into all directions that were possible.

Tom was nearer to the front, a group of those who had gone to the social gathering every time it was held since they reached the age of ten – the age when they allowed you to enter. Although, he was dressed in designer labels, such as _Le Coq Sportif _or _Nike_, however he was not frowned upon for his dress sense, everyone was welcomed like a family in the Grand Hall of the Corn Exchange Theatre (the Grand Hall had a ceiling which resembled a church. Arches coming from the walls, up onto the upper limit and finally ending at the other wall) in which almost everyone should have been worried.

If even one of those anthropomorphic vehicles were to come across the events in the venue, each and every person in the hall would endure the serious consequences of breaking the laws; of course, each crime had the same punishment. Although, no one could be sure on whether or not that this penalty was "serious" as no one had even returned, but is it not in human nature to fear the unknown? Or to jump to conclusions? The original concept of the get together was so that teenagers could escape their tedious lives for one night (they did not have much choices, when you reached the age of sixteen, love would be chosen for you. Wherever you were, the chances were that you would be watched and every word that passed your lips would have been heard, groups of friends were limited to six people as they were afraid of any attempted revolt). It was a group of sixteen year olds who had originally came up with the idea of "Indie Night", once they had told the County Council, they were swift to decline it, but they had decided to take the unused theatre and use it for their ideas anyway.

James pushed his way past everyone to the front of the group, tapping his right index finger upon the shoulder of Tom; who spun round and smiled at the sight of his old friend. Before they could begin to converse, James pointed over to the fire exit, seeing that the other was furrowing his brow in confusion, he grabbed Tom's arm and pulled him back through the crowds and over to Joanne. "Jo…" James began playfully, letting go of Tom and taking one of Joanne's hands from her hip, "May I have this dance?" He said into her ear – just loud enough for her to hear – soon after he mock bowed. She frowned.

"I'd much rather go with Tom," she yelled back, holding back her giggles. She walked past him and slipped an arm around Tom, who in return put an arm around her waist – which was larger than most girls'. He turned around briefly, showing his friend a rather rude gesture before laughing and turning around again. But James soon followed, going round to the right side of the female in their small group and putting an arm around her own back, she looked over to him and smiled. But, just by doing so, James felt as if his stomach had been dropped from a high building.

"High alert!" A voice came from the speakers as the music was paused, "we need to get everyone out _now_!" Panic rose at the last word in the persons already panting voice, the lights fixed onto the walls turned on, allowing proper visibility of the environment around them.

"Jo!" Tom exclaimed, offering a hand to her, "c'mon!" She took it, and as she was pulled away snatched James' and the group had began to file out of the exit. Of course, whilst being under surveillance the majority of the time and the venue already being held under suspicion, this was not the easiest of tasks. Though, of course, the bouncers at the entrances had been told how to get large numbers of people away from the scene without increasing the doubt, but whatever happened after was out of their responsibility.

After a while, the three had finally made an exit. The streets of the town were empty, and so it made the already eerie atmosphere feel dense and all of those who had attended Indie Night were full of paranoia. "Uhh… Excuse me?" Came another male voice from behind the group of three as they scurried home in a line – one after the other. The trio slowed down slightly. A group of young boys (who all liked like they could be no older than twelve-years-old), were following and desperately trying to keep up with them, all their faces were bright red and tear-stained.

"What is it?" Tom asked in an exhausted pant, trying to slow down to their pace, but he was much to frightened to do so, much too frightened for his own life, and for the life of his two friends. So, instead he just looked slightly over his left shoulder.

"We-" He gasped for air, "Can-" Yet another. "Can we co-"

This time, he was interrupted by Joanne, she had slowed her pace and managed to shake her hands free from the grasp of James and Tom, taking hold of two of the young boys' hands, she pulled them closer to her two friends.

They took a turning right, off the bridge which was above part of the River Orwell and dashed as fast as their aching legs could take them as they passed the rail station, they continued in this direction for a moment, until – all panting – they reached the block of modern-designed flats. They pressed their backs against the wall. With a small hand signal, Tom gestured for the others to stay were they were, and they obeyed. He turned so that his right side was pressed against the lightly coloured bricks. "Wait!" His female friend hissed in a whisper, putting her hand on his shoulder, furthest away from the wall with a firm clasp, "That's where _they_ sleep! You're not really thinking about hiding us in there!?"

There was a momentary silence in which he thought about what she said. He turned, furrowing his brow in annoyance. "Oh, and I suppose _you _have a better idea?" He asked sarcasm blatant in each syllable. "What else are we going to do?"

She looked around awkwardly. "Well, we can continue going down the main road-" She pointed in front of them, if they continued going forward, they would encounter a blind spot – a perfect opportunity for the capturer to confine them. "Or we can go through the park or up the hill-" She moved her finger to point to across the road, a way passed under the railway bridge. "Or, we can stand here like any gormless someone would do in hope of being caught." She finished with a smug tone, and a smirk to fit her voice. Tom groaned in aggravation.

"Okay," he stopped himself from yelling, looking around as he felt as if something was watching him, "no one's up for the idea of standing here. But if we go down to the main road that means we're perfect for a blind corner capture-"

"Which leaves us no other option," James finished for him, "we're going under the bridge." Joanne nodded, although, a self-satisfied nod, knowing that she would get her own way at the end of the discussion, one way or the other. She took hold of the young boy's hand; they ran across the road without checking for signs of traffic. Continue straight down the path, they went under the railway bridge, and continued down the path, but then, a distant sound caught the attention of Tom.

"Shit…" He whispered to himself, stopping abruptly and holding out his arms to his sides, indicating to James and Joanne to stop also. The sound was beginning to get close; he looked around frantically, trying to find a safe place to hide his friends and the group of children. His sights finally rested upon an open gate. "Over there," he whispered urgently, pointing over to the black metal gateway, "Get into the park!"

James did not hesitate but to snatch Joanne's hand and pull her across the road once again, the group of youngsters followed and Tom brought the rear of the group, stopping just before he reached Gipswick Park, making sure no one was left behind, looking to where he had originally heard the noise coming from, a white light was coming from the corner. Without wavering, he scampered after the rest. His athletic build made catching up with them no challenge and before long, he was leading the group once again. The sound grew nearer and by this time, all of them had heard it, they took the left nearer to the park (which had been vandalised, the swings had any bit of uncovered metal was rusted solid) but the damp weather which had been brought with the summer climate, the patch of earth – of which was missing the fine grass – was muddy, causing them all to slip in all directions, although, there was always one person who had to fall over.

Tom stopped, hearing a grunt of pain, turning around he noticed one of the younger males looking behind him as the roaring of the engine was getting closer. He offered a hand to him, "Take it!"

"What are you doing!?" Joanne yelled back at him, slowing down herself, letting go of James' grasp and pulling his shoulder. "Leave him!"

He looked up from the young child and cast his vision to the car in pursue. However much he did not want to do so, he turned and followed the rest of the group, pulling Joanne by her wrist as he went. Just as they thought that the young victim had managed to scamper to safety, there was a cry of pain. To make things worse, the cry did not come from that far away from were they were. By this time, they were making their way up a mildly steep hill, following a stone path which lead onto the dirt path, taking them behind a block of houses and yet, they would be almost impossible to see due to the amount and size of the vegetation covering the pathway and the lack of luminosity. James (who was now leading the pack) stopped, gasping for air, the car was no where to be seen and he could not hear the engine. "Oh, God, great going," Tom said sceptically, pushing his way next to his companion looking toward the hill leading out of the park, "you've got us stuck, dumbass."

Joanne sighed deeply, "Look, if we hang around here for a while, we can hide in the trees and make an escape through London Road in the morning."

Tom scoffed at this suggestion, "like you'll be seeing me sleep in this dump."

By now, both James and Joanne were getting rapidly aggravated. "Oh!" James yelled, "I suppose _you _have an idea to get us out of this!?" His emerald eyes met Tom's own ice blue ones; they obtained a strong eye contact before a beam of light passed the leaves of foliage. Tom spun around on the spot.

"Shit…" He whispered again, he frantically waved his hands up and down, trying to signal for them to get low to the ground. "Get down!"

"What the Hell?" Joanne asked, managing to keep her voice at a hushed whisper also, "that thing could get up here! We've gotta make our way home-"

"What!?" He retorted, "Jo, that's a suicide mission-"

She hit the air near his face angrily, "for goodness sake! Just trust me!" Her eyes wide and reflecting no other emotion but panic,"Just think about it, the more we stand here and argue, the more likely we are to be caught!"

"Wait…" James began thoughtfully. He ventured around from the safety of the trees (despite Joanne's protests) and looked down the descending path; behind a flock of shrubbery was a green hut. "If we get down there, we have a chance of being safe."

Tom joined at his side. "Good thinking, Batman." Sarcasm. It made James flinch and clench his hands into fists. "Now time for the even better idea: How are we going to get down there?"

"Camouflage." Was the reply. "We can try to hide in the long grass. As long as no one's wearing anything brightly coloured." He turned back to survey the group. "Jo's hair might be a bit of a bugger, but… Try and hide it." Joanne took a bit of hair from the right side of her fringe, he was right; if the headlights from the car in question caught the vivid red, the chances were that they would be caught.

"Damn, Jo, I knew that was a bad idea." Tom said, but he only got a glare in reply.

Joanne got onto her hands and knees, playing nervously with the red and black fingerless glove on her right hand, "keep together." She whispered, as the cars light came in view once again before lowering her front onto the earth, pushing the long strands of grass from her path, putting her arms in front of her and pulling back, bringing her forward a small distance with the help of a push with her legs. The others soon followed suite, they were all startled every once in a while when they heard late-night departures and arrivals from the train station the opposite side of the park. They finally had descended the mound without being put it any real danger.

"I know you're here." Came a growl, causing almost all of them to tense a little, but then the gentle hum was beginning to get even closer. They looked to the right – the direction the sound and voice was coming from – to see a scarlet Audi TT slowly rolling toward them. Upon its bumper was held an angry scowl and a frown was held on its windshield. James gently tapped the shoulder of the only female in the group, once getting her attention, he pointed over in front of them.

Not too far away was the grouped trees that he had told they could seek refuge in, looking past that was the green shack, but as she was about to get up and make a quick dash for momentary safety, James and Tom pulled her back to the ground pointing to the car urgently in unison. The group of children had caught onto what was going on by this point; they were barely able to hold back their whimpers or cries of fear. Then, the sound of the tires on the ground became much too clear as the car rolled past them, not a sound was made. All breathes were held. All eyes were on the red curves of metal. All heads turned as it made its way up the dirt path next to their hiding place. "Go." James whispered simply, barely audible in the ear of Joanne as he pushed her slightly.

She looked to him with an expression that read perfectly "you've got to be kidding me", but even a short moment of eye contact told her that he was deadly serious about this. Making sure that the Audi was facing the opposite direction, she slowly began to stand, not taking her sights off the car but as she stepped onto the grass her pace quickened into a run – until she reached her destination. She stopped and done her best to hide behind the trunk and leaves but beckoned the others to follow suite.

James too looked behind him to see the whereabouts of the car was, it was no where to be seen but he still motioned to the others with his hands to stay hidden in the grass before making his way over to his friend. "Okay," Joanne said, once he was at her side, "now we need to get you over there-" She pointed to the hut- "without that car seeing so you can open the door for everyone."

"Jo!" They heard Tom hiss loud enough for them to hear, they both turned to face him, once he noticed that he had gotten their attention, he pointed urgently to his right, the headlights of the Audi were becoming visible from around the corner again.

They both cursed under their breath as they crouched down to the ground, he put his lips nearer to her ear and whispered, "We can still get there, just don't turn your back." He took her hand. Before she could debate against this – or even shake her hand free of his grasp – he had begun to pull her closer toward the shelter. She tugged on him slightly as she heard the rumble getting closer. They both stopped in one place. Not daring to inhale nor exhale. Instead, the slowly manoeuvred their front to the floor. James continued to eagerly crawl closer to their target whereas Joanne just laid still. He looked back at her, "we need to get over there." He whispered.

She shook her head. "Not without Tom." She turned around to face the group, beginning to shuffle forward slightly, hearing more curses coming from behind her and something grab onto her foot.

"What are you doing?" He hissed. She looked over her shoulder.

"I'm getting Tom over here," she whispered back, "Try and get the door open." She nodded slightly to the shack; he followed where she had indicated to when he finally comprehended what she wished him to do, he just rolled his eyes.

"Just be careful." He told, before making his way to the shed. Getting to the last tree in the line, making sure he would not be visible from wherever the car had gotten to before running around the back. Finding the gap between the side of the door and the wall, he worked his way down frantically searching for something that resembled the feel of a handle. When – at last – he did find one. Frantically pulling on it, but with no prevail. Looking over to Joanne and James, he noticed that they were helping the group of young boys over as well. _What the hell are they doing!? _He thought angrily, but quickly shook his head and concentrated on the more important things in mind. Recklessly shaking the door and kicking it in all places trying to get it open. "Bastard!" He muttered angrily to himself, letting go and putting his foot back to the ground. Punching the middle out of frustration.

Tom rushed to his side, "we really don't have time for that." But he too began to attempt to kick it open, James soon picked up from where he had stopped.

"Stop it!" Joanne scolded, grabbing the back of their heads and pushing them against the wall, the two simultaneously stopped assaulting the hut, "you're gonna get us caught."

But, it was much too late for the warning.

"Who's there!?"

The three froze, looking over to their original hiding place; the group of boys were half way to the trees. "Get back," the three ushered them away in unison, motioning with their hands to get back to where they were originally hidden from view.

"You!" Came the cars voice again, Joanne let out a small part of a large gasp, but the two males either side of her cupped their hands over her mouth. "Where have you been?"

"Go round to the side," Tom whispered to Joanne. He poked his head past the corner of the shack to make sure that the car would not notice their escape attempts, but just as quickly as he did so he pressed his back against the door, panting he looked over to the two – who were looking back at him with concern. "Ass. Side. Now."

They exchanged glances before doing as they had been told to do, but still Tom decided to push them faster to where he wanted them. By this point, they all pressed their backs up against the metal as much as was possible, he continued to usher the others along to the end – however. When James stopped and frowned at him in confusion, he began a mental parade of curses.

"There's more is there?"

The three closed there eyes, panic over coming them. Tom was first to open his eyes and make a swift dash next to James, looking around the nearest corner; he would be out of sight from the Audi. But he frowned as he noticed the padlock was not locked properly. "Ugh," he moaned in annoyance, barely holding back the urge to hit the side, "what _bastards_." He turned the corner to the other door and pulled the padlock gently, it came off moderately effortlessly. Looking back at his friends he waved a hand gently, they slowly worked their way round to his side. "These hinges a rusted somethin' awful, I'm gonna have to open the door just a little, okay? And try not to open it even more Jo." He side glanced at her, trying to hold back his giggles, even at a moment like this, he had to insult Joanne about her size. Shaking his head with a wide grin, he pushed the door open, the oxidized hinges squeaking slightly. His eyes widened. "Ass. In. Now." He said simply as he pushed James and Joanne inside one after the other. He looked around making sure that the car wasn't coming before joining them and closing the door lightly.

The two were sat near where the car had been interrogating the children, pressing their ears against the wall; trying to hear each word they were saying. The gruff voice (which blatantly belonged to the Audi TT) was beginning to rise and aggravation noticeable. Next came a small voice – it was shaking and full of fear.

"Don't give me excuses!" The car yelled, there was a moment's silence, but it soon passed when the stammering again. But then, an engine roared and a bang was heard. As if something had come into contact with metal. Joanne gasped, her initial reaction was to place her hand on James' leg and squeeze it. He looked up from this and smiled, although, dismay filled this beam. It soon passed when he heard her soft sobs.

He looked at her with a sympathetic expression, sliding a hand from her shoulder, down her arm and meeting on her hand, taking her fingers with his own, he squeezed his hand into a fist momentarily – forcing hers to do so to. "We'll be okay," he whispered. From the other side, Tom just scoffed.

"Give me a break."

James scowled at him momentarily as Joanne turned to face him. He put his arms around her middle and pulled her into a tight embrace, allowing her to mourn into his chest.

"We'll be fine, Jo… Just fine…"

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**Author Notes**

OH MY GOODNESS! It's finally here, and I can _not _explain how happy I am to get this chapter out of the way! -dances like a maniac- Okay, so I'm being an insomniac for this story... It's 3am and I'm only now contemplating that going to bed sounds like a half descent idea...

I'm addicted to Linkin Park... I command you to listen to them, NOW...

I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, you just read all this so give me a freakin' review already -.-

PS - Don't worry people! I have _not _given up on **It's All Coming Back To Me**... If you think I have... Then expect a visit from the Audi TT featured in this chapter -evil laugh-

'Night! n.n


	2. Dead Or Alive

**Without My Wings **by Life Is A Highway66

**Shoot-outs**  
NikChik-11 Yayy for better and revised versions of the same chapter much, huh? xD Thanks for the comment on the original… AGAIN… Trust me; you have no idea how much that inspired me to re-write the chapter… So yeah… -hughughug- …I still miss joo! DDDD: -sobs into pillow-  
Buick Regal Racecar 56 Rawr? n.n  
Apocolypse Dragon (I knoes you didn't review…) Thanks for the characters -hug- AAAAAANNNNNNDDDD the ideas (which basically re-wrote the entire story)… Sorry if you're out of character in this chappy (also, yes, this is supposed to be your little birthday gift n.n;).  
potternutter Thanks for the chapter title! n.n  
SteelBlueMiley There is so much more to come; I cannot emphasis how long it's probably going to take me to write it all D:!!

**Character Call**  
Okay, I've got the main characters… Although I'm still looking for minor/secondary (they mean the same things, don't they?) characters… If you are interested but didn't get a chance to tell yours truly, contact me via Personal Message or email ;-)

**Further Notes**  
Edward/Eddy © Apocolypse Dragon (yes, the manipulation begins -evil laugh-)  
Faint © Linkin Park

**Chapter Warnings**  
First of all, there is _some _strong language here… Although, it is milder than last chapter. Also, I wrote the parts out of order, so they may not be as fluent as you may have wished it was. I got half way through Joanne's part then decided that the first part of the chapter may be a good time to introduce another 'main' character… Then I decided that a flashback would be interesting -.- This is what happens if you role-play parts of the story!

Enjoy (I know I did writing it)!

* * *

**Part One **– Here In The Darkness  
Chapter Two – **Dead Or Alive**

…_Everyday It Seems We're Wasting Away, Another Place Where The Faces Are So Cold_…

_**I am a little bit of loneliness a little bit of disregard,  
Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact that everyone can see,  
These scars…**_

"_You were right, Ed!" Came a voice from the right, Edward looked to his friend, who had managed to stop laughing for a moment. "This is a good idea!" There was a chorus of "way!" throughout the small group who had decided to go against the strict rules. It was now way past midnight (the curfew for almost everyone), they were still merrily singing along to the songs of Linkin Park from the portable stereo that he had brought with him. _

"_I'm letting her go!" He yelled, sticking a firework into the ground and lighting it, they all began to run away, once a reasonable distance away, they turned to watch the firework as it went into the air with a squeal, soon after, the cylinder exploded into a outburst of bright colours._

_**I am what I want you to want what I want you to feel,  
But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe,  
This is real…**_

_One of the two females were the first to run back to where they had originally been, continuing to chant with the tune, Edward watched the rest of them in content for a moment before tugging on the spiked collar which was both illegal and uncomfortable to wear. But, he immediately put his discomfort to the side to put his thoughts into much more important things – like, seeing how much longer he and his friends could maintain the party before a car would stumble across them._

_**So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do,  
Face away and pretend that I'm not,  
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got…**_

_He looked around, he was not very far from any of their homes, and yet so very far from safety. He saw something, a baby blue something, in the corner of his eye, he shook his head quickly, trying to brush the thought of that baby blue something being a car and the thought of capture – the thought of death also._

_**I can't feel the way I did before,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored,  
Time won't heal this damage anymore,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored…**_

"_What about another one?" One of his friends said, putting another firework firmly into the ground and – once he had made sure that it would not be going in another direction other than up – pulling the lighter from his pocket._

"_No!" Edward yelled, he ran toward his friend in an attempt to knock the gas-filled container from his hand, but it was much too late. The firework had been lit._

_**I am a little bit insecure a little unconfident,  
Cause you don't understand I do what I can but sometimes I don't make sense,  
I am what you never wanna say but I've never had a doubt…**_

_He turned, he noticed a light coming from the forest behind their gathering, the others had already began to run away from the firework, he turned into the opposite direction, only to see that the firework could be sent into the air at any moment, he was going to run in the other bearing but he heard a distant hum that seemed all too near. It was too familiar, the hum was the sound of an engine._

_**It's like no matter what I do I can't convince you for once just to hear me out,  
So I let go watching you turn your back like you always do,  
Face away and pretend that I'm not,  
But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I've got…**_

"_Oh God… Oh God… Oh God…" He repeated to himself, continuing to contemplate which direction to go, there was a squeal and a stream of light, signifying that the rocket had gone into the air, just moments later, a bang echoed around the air and the sky was filled with colours. The three others walked back over to the site, clapping and laughing. "We need to get out of here!"_

_The glee on the girls face twisted into confusion, "What? Ed… It's only just begun!" There was another chorus of "way!" throughout them as they began to high-five each other. "Anyway, what's with the need?"_

_Worry in Edward's expressions instantly changed to one which read 'as if I need to answer that'. She looked around. "I can't hear anything," she grinned, "I think poor Eddy's getting scared!" _

_She was right. The light was gone and the sound of the engine had faded away, he mentally scowled at her._

_**I can't feel the way I did before,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored,  
Time won't heal this damage anymore,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored…**_

_After a moment of standing in silence, he had decided to blame what he saw on his over-active imagination and soon found himself enjoying the night with his group of friends, having the same song on repeat into the early hours and letting off more fireworks until their supply had begun to run low. But then, there was something in the corner of his eye – a baby blue something, followed by many others._

_**No,  
Hear me out now…**_

"_Did you see that?" He asked, he knew that he should not have spoken as loudly as he had done – but fear caused him to. He looked around again, the purr had begun again – along with a few others._

"_Mm-hmm," was the reply among the rest of the group, their shaking voices showing that they were beginning to get afraid too. But then, a voice began to speak. A deep, male voice._

"_Loud music and past curfew… How nice of you." Before any of the group could say anything in response, a posse of cars began to move toward them._

_**You're gonna listen to me, like it or not,  
Right now…**_

_The four were frozen with fear briefly, once they had recomposed themselves, two of the boys made a quick escape through the gap between two the of cars. Edward was going to follow them, but as he had gotten ready to dash for safety, his way had been blocked, just he and his female friend remained. "Ed…" She whispered, a voice shaking in fear, her eyes wide and reflecting the same emotion, she took hold of his hand and squeezed it._

_**Hear me out now,  
You're gonna listen to me, like it or not,  
Right now…**_

_He spun round on the spot and pushed her forward slightly, "Go! Get outta here!" She took the advice and began to run away from the scene. He continued to look around for a place to save himself from whatever these rabid creatures had in mind. Before he could find a place to do so there was a cry of pain, looking frantically to where his friend had just gone. She was lying on the ground with a Land Rover Discovery's tire lurking above her chest. _

"_You dare run," the Land Rover began to warn, "she gets it."_

_**I can't feel the way I did before,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored…**_

_He looked between the two frantically, it hurt him to make such a decision but he knew that it would probably be for the best, he turned again, and ran toward one of the cars in an attempted getaway. But one of the Ford Transit's had gotten in his way, swearing under his breath, he came to a stop and tried to escape by a different way. But without any success. It was much too late, he had put his friend's life to an end, and he himself had been captured…_

_**I can't feel the way I did before,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored,  
Time won't heal this damage anymore,  
Don't turn your back on me,  
I won't be ignored…**_

* * *

All that was just the events of the previous night.

"Get him inside!" A voice yelled. Edward looked around in confusion, everything just seemed like a blind panic, but the angered cars around him – who were sending impolite glares – told him instantly that whatever he had been sent to a place like this for could not be good.

Looking around, the environment he was in looked very much like a derelict campsite. Kicking up some of the sandy terrain in sheer boredom, anxiety and fear, black metal containers were laid in all directions, buildings which had been vandalised by generations before (the windows had been smashed – although some of the glass still remained – and the walls were slowly falling down) and behind him stood the remains of a shack. There was a small square hole and near to this was a device for weighing. A silver Chrysler Crossfire slowly began to roll closer. "Get in there," it snarled, the voice sounded female.

He looked behind him, in the direction the Chrysler nodded her hood towards. "Who do we have here?" Came another male voice, from behind the Crossfire a Maserati Quattroporte. "Ah, young Ed-"

"How the Hell do you know my name?" Edward had asked, much faster than he would have usually spoken, and before the car had completed his sentence.

A chuckle escaped the Maserati. "That, Eddy, is for me to know and you to continue pondering. Now. Be a dear and get in." He too nodded a hood toward the shack.

He looked behind him, but could not see anything to get into, until he looked to the lean-to, observing it for a moment, his brown eyes coming into contact with the two cars in front of him again. Raising an eyebrow sceptically, he had begun to ask, "Wha-?"

But the Chrysler cut him off.

Surging forward slightly into his legs, causing his knees to buckle and fall to the ground – his head making contact with her hood with a strong force, he slowly slid off and onto the floor. He lay still for a moment, before groaning and bringing his hands from his torso to his face. "_Bastard_," he muttered. Getting onto his knees, he glared angrily into the eyes of the Crossfire.

"Why are you doing that?" She asked, maintaining a strong eye contact with him, but with a smug grin upon her bumper – although, it was made up with a slight bit of amusement, entertained by the way his eyes reflected hatred; hatred that was attempting to cover something else, fear, she presumed. "I'm only going to win in the end."

"What is in _there_," Edward asked, his glower completely gone and his eyes wide with fear and concern of his own safety, "and why am I _here_?"

The Maserati found this amusing, and with a small chuckle he began to explain. "You were out with a group of human companions, were you not?" The car was silent for a moment, to allow him to answer. He nodded, but before he could add any words to his defence, the car continued: "Past the curfew, I believe?" He hesitated before nodding again. "Music above the restricted level of volume?" Another nod. "Banned clothing accessories?" A last nod. "I think that is enough to draw this argument to an end. You seem quite a rebellion; we best do this quickly, eh?" The two vehicles had begun to move closer until he realised that it was much to late for him to jump onto his feet and make a swift escape, and so, as he tried to stand, his knees buckled once again and he fell onto the ground. The foreboding smirks upon their bumpers did not bode well with him. Forgetting about what could have been behind him, he moved along the ground, feeling what was behind him desperately. That was until his right hand was placed on a lower ground level then his body was still.

Looking behind him, his lower arm was engulfed in darkness from the square hole. "Shit," was all he managed to mutter as he turned his head to face the vehicles in front of him, the Crossfire was beginning to roll over him. "I'm goin'!" He yelled, he pulled his right hand up and placed it upon her bumper and pushed on it slightly, "lemme up!" But still, she refused to go, but instead, she surged forward again. He placed his hand back behind him, soon following with his left. Frantically scrambling his hands around, trying to find the other side – something that might resemble a wall of some sort. When at last he did find one, he gripped to the top and did the same with his left – allowing him to easily lower himself into the obscurity. Once he had done so, he looked around; it was very much claustrophobic down there and so he cast his vision upward, only to find that the opening had begun to close. _Just don't move, _he told himself, resisting the urge to get up and attempt a swift escape. He looked up again, although, the complete darkness made it seem like he had not opened his eyes.

Then, from the outside he heard a voice. "Don't worry, it is a delicate process." The calm voice changed instantly into a laugh as the indescribable begun.

* * *

It may have been paranoia that kept Joanne awake that night – nervously waiting for dawn to break. She knew what those cars were like, and it seemed as if she, Tom and James had aggravated the Audi beyond words, and she knew that now they had escaped, they would go to extreme lengths to capture the three. Or, it could have been anxiety of what her mother would think of her chase through Gipswick park. 

The three had stayed in the hut for a few hours, listening to the threats, interrogations and the cries of pain and mercy that appeared every now and again. But when they heard the hum of the engine fade into the distance, they took it as an opportunity to get as far away from the scene as possible. Through the small, reserved environmental area and onto the path which lead them next to the railway line and onto London Road, but the road had eventually (after many scares that a car was on their trail) managed to lead her back to the safety of her home.

She finished applying her eyeliner before pulling her glove up higher on her hand and arm, making sure that her hair wasn't a mess and straightening her clothes (which were the same trousers as the night before, just the change from _My Chemical Romance _shirt to _The Nightmare Before Christmas_) before descending the stairs and making a way toward the door, hoping no one would hear her. She had received a message on her phone from James ten minutes prior to meet her at the park.

"Where are you going, young lady?" Her mothers' voice came from behind her. She stopped, clenching her fists, squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth, she slowly turned around.

"Out. To meet James and Tom. Y'know. Hanging around and all the other shit." She shrugged absent-mindedly. Christy (her mother) frowned.

"I have three things to comment on about that sentence. One, do _not_ swear under any circumstances. Two, you're not going anywhere until you've had some breakfast. Lastly, James' dad told me about last night." There was an awkward silence between the two. "You're not going out there, they could be watching you. Hell, they could be listening to this very conversation. But, young lady, you're _not _leaving this house until something changes with management around here."

Joanne gasped. "Mum! That's not fair! What about school? I have to go to sc-" But Christy cut her off.

"Betty's volunteered quite willingly to home school you," she explained. "It'll be just like normal school times, just without the distractions and friends." Joanne scoffed in annoyance, kicking the floor a little. Christy pointed a warning finger toward her. "Don't get an attitude with me."

"Whatever," Joanne waved a hand absently, putting the other on the wall beside the stairs and was about to run up to her room, until Christy pulled her off the top step. "What the hell are you doing?!"

She smiled slightly. "You don't think we're waiting for tomorrow to start your lessons, do you?" She laughed as her daughters' eyes widened with shock. "C'mon. Haul your ass into the living room."

Joanne raised an eyebrow. _How ironic that the parent can swear but not the child, _she thought to herself, she shrugged it off and regretfully entered the room in which her neighbour was waiting to start what could be a few years of tedious work.

* * *

Days rolled past into weeks and the weeks soon turned into a month. One month of home schooling from Betty, but Joanne had to admit, it was not as bad as she had first thought. Although, she had not seen nor talked to either of her friends since the incident in the park and she had begun to ponder worriedly about their well-being. She watched the clock tick quietly upon the wall above the conservatory door, she sighed, knowing that she should have been at Indie Night by now. An hour before they opened the doors to anyone, having a friendly chat between the bouncers, Tom and James. She lay on her back upon the sofa, putting an arm over her forehead and exhaling deeply. She stayed like this for a few moments, listening to all the sounds around the house and outside on the road and thinking about past events. 

From one of her pockets, she felt a small vibration upon her leg. Digging her hand into the pocket, she pulled out her phone, flicked it open. "Hello?" She asked timidly.

"Hey, Jo," came James' voice, "where are you?"

She was speechless with shock and happiness momentarily; she sat up and put her chin on one of her hands. "Mum found out about last time. I can't come. I can't go out or anything, that evil bitch."

He laughed on the other end. "So, that means you're not coming? Ever again?"

She shook her head. "Not until these cars are pushed out of power. So, yeah. Never again. Sorry."

"Can't you sneak out? I mean, it's probably going to be awesome, y'know. With everyone scared and tense and stuff."

She sighed, blinking away the tears that had suddenly formed. She stood, shaking slightly with nervousness. "James, I'm begging you. Don't go in."

"Why?"

Another sigh. "Because… I… I just don't want you to get caught-"

"I'm not going to get caught Jo."

"How'd you know?"

"I just know, okay?" She flinched. The more this conversation was continuing, the more noticeable the anger was in his voice. Biting her lip, she allowed a few tears slip down her cheeks.

"We came so close to being caught last time, I just don't want you to get hurt." She clamped her teeth harder upon her lip as she realised that she had let a minor sob escape. Before he could even contemplate a reply, she hung up the phone.

* * *

**Authors Note**

-so totally hates that ending DDD:-

There you go m'dear. For your birthday, something indescribable happens to joo! n.n This is where the fun begins! Joanne's thoughts on her mum swearing are what I always think when my parents swear in front of me… And… The conservatory door holds great memories. -ask Jazz x3-

Anyway, that aside I totally LOVED writing this chapter! Mostly because I got to put a Linkin Park song in my story x3 Because… I'M STILL ADDICTED TO THEM 8D… And I probably will be for a while… -.-

By the way, if you had not have guessed already, this story is based in my hometown (except Edward's part, sooner or later you should check out my deviantART gallery… I'm putting up some pictures of main places ;-)

Graffiti decorations, under a sky of dust, a constant wave of tension, on top of broken trust… The reviews that you give me, I learn help me through ;-P (Runaway – Linkin Park. Current song addiction).

(By the way, Indie Night. Was. AWESOME.)


	3. Cuts Like A Knife

**Without My Wings **by Life Is A Highway66

**Shout-Outs **(haha, and no spelling mistakes this time!)  
Buick Regal Racecar 56 So… You're coming to like this story now then, huh? ;-P  
potternutter Thanks (AGAIN D:) for the chapter title… AND for ze review :-O  
Nickchik-11 …I totally used review reply n.n; Didn't I?

**Character Call  
**CLOSED. No one seems to be interested. RAWR, people, RAWR. ¬.¬

**Further Notes  
**So, the last chapter in part one. Scary, huh? I actually wrote most of this during the previous Indie Night (not on paper, of course. Mentally. Then on paper when I got home), this is also the chapter which changes everything in the story :-) So, if you ever get confused in the future, this is probably the chapter you need to come back to refer to… I might re-write this chapter…

**Chapter Warnings  
**O.o There be none (wheyy). Except ridiculously long paragraphs 8D YAY RIDICULOUSLY LONG PARAGRAPHS!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Part One **– Here In The Darkness  
Chapter Three – **Cuts Like A Knife**

…_This Would Be The First Time, Things Have Gone Astray_…

No one had seen them coming.

That is what frustrated the majority of people who had gone that night, the get together was continuing as usual. Everything was normal. But, for James, the only thing left was regret. The tension had steadily passed, and he had been naïve enough to think that they would have been safe.

It had been fifteen minutes past eight until James and Tom had finally ascended the old wooden staircases to the Grand Hall, everyone was looking around – much of their attention lingering around the door, and it was slightly unnerving when they had first entered to find everyone's vision rested upon them – they soon joined the group which was undoubtedly smaller than usual, standing in the position Joanne would usually have. James was seemingly dismayed by the fact that the other of the group could not attend as usual, this amused Tom mildly shaking his head and making a mental note to try and find him a girlfriend sometime in the near future. But, James could not help but to banish anything which resembled a smile from his face, he missed her. For a month, they had been without proper face-to-face contact. He closed his eyes and shook his head – now he was beginning to sound obsessed, he concluded.

The music did not seem as loud that night, that could have been because of the apprehension lingering around everybody or it could have been that those who held Indie Night had decided to reduce the volume, in fear of being held under caution again. After a few hours passed, the anxiety had decreased greatly, and some had managed to find their lost spark once again, beginning to jump and punch the air multiple times. "That's it," Tom told his friend, putting his lips near to his face, "This is boring, I'm in the middle and you're coming with me." Before James could even think about debating this, his hand had been snatched from beside his body and he was pulled to the hub. Tom was soon swallowed up by the new found, relaxed and friendly atmosphere and began to join the others, beginning to talk to other girls, who immediately fell for his charms. James scoffed in disgust. He felt out of place standing still as everyone around them was bursting with excitement and energy, but he could not find the usual ambience of which he would usually get five minutes into the social gathering. Maybe it was due to the fact that they knew all too well now that the danger of being captured was higher than they would have originally thought or it could have been that their group was not complete without Joanne. Either way, nothing felt right.

"James," Tom began, "if those feet don't leave the ground, you're a dead man walking." James laughed at his threat, making a little jump. Tom just smiled and nodded. "And try it again." The other jumped again, then – from out of nowhere – the feeling that he usual got after five minutes had passed finally crept up in him, two hours into the night. But, as soon as he began to join in with everyone else, he was pulled to the front. The pit which was frequently used if a few had a sudden urge to get into a fight was covered with the stage, on which stood the four large speakers, just as the high bass song began to play. They both felt the vibrations going through their chests and throats – the volume had blatantly been increased to what it usually would have been.

James grinned at the unusual sensation, but he tensed as he felt as if something was wrong. He planted both feet on the ground, not daring to jump again. He tried to brush the feeling aside, but it continued to return and was persistent to dwell in his mind. The lights went out as there was a deep note held out for about twenty seconds, in this time Tom had grabbed James' hands and encouraged him to jump again, James took this encouragement and began to do so after a moment. Twenty seconds later, the beat picked up once again, strobe lights picked up and no one saw them coming.

As everything seemed to slow down to frame-by-frame, movement from the entrance and fire exit could be seen. Slick movements, or – to be precise – movements from means of transport, and a lot of them. The majority of those in the Grand Hall let out a scream of pure terror, knowing that this was possibly the last time they would be put under the danger of being caught. The music came to an instant stop, but the lights continued, making James feel slightly disorientated as he was pulled away by his friend. The calm atmosphere suddenly changed into a blind panic as everyone rushed for any way which they could escape. James pulled his arm away from Tom, making him lose grip, but within seconds, groups of other people had come between them. Looking around frantically for a way to get to safety, he was confronted by a BMW M5; he stopped in his tracks, staring into the eyes of the car fearfully. The door clicked open, the engine revved, with its back tires spinning, its rear turned sharply toward him and forced him onto the drivers' seat, stifling a scream, he sat up and pressed his back against the seat. There was a click from the right as the BMW locked its door, confining him.

Tom, however, was hiding under table, watching the legs of the humans and the wheels of the cars, finding the perfect time to make a swift escape, but it refused to come in quick time. He crawled to his right and under the next table, he was so close to his exit – and yet so far. Once he had finally gotten nearer to the door, he waited anxiously for the majority of the cars to leave, but every time a group did leave, a few more would enter. Sighing irritably and in fear, he pulled himself from out of the table and nearer to the stairs. He stopped and gripped the walls, when he realised that the steps had been covered with boards to allow the cars to easily access them. Then, like a tiger upon its prey, a scarlet Audi TT began to roll closer behind him. He gasped with shock and dread, as he turned to face it, beginning to back away also as their eyes met. He stepped back, but his foot slipped on the wooden board.

He just stood in his place, knowing that – this time – there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Joanne drowsily and absent-mindedly pulled the corner cupboard open, two parts coming with her grip. She let go and pulled the nearest small glass to her out off the shelf. "Toast is on the table," Christy told her quietly as she walked through the kitchen and into the hall. 

"Whatever," mumbled Joanne in reply as she began to pour the milk from its container. Once again, thoughts of the well-being of her friends flooded her mind. She shook her head, telling herself mentally that everything would be fine, then again – James had yet not called her to inform her that they had not been put in any danger. Clenching her hands into fists, she punched the worktop out of frustration. Taking her beverage in her hand, she made her way through the dining room to the conservatory, and just as her mother had said, her breakfast was upon the coffee table.

"_In other news, crime has reached its highest ever rate."_

The beginning of the news report had caught Joanne's attention, looking up to the television and began to watch the news as millions of alarms in her mind began going off simultaneously.

"_Last night, a couple of hundred human teenagers were caught as The Cars undertook a huge challenge at the Corn Exchange Theatre in Ipswich-"_

She stopped listening, eyes widened with shock, worry and fear she jumped up and pulled the phone from her pocket. Opening it as she ran up the stairs and into her room, she began to ring the house of James. Next to her room, Christy was also watching the news report, overhearing the news reader repeating the names who had been caught the previous night. "Shit," she muttered as she received no reply from the other end. She immediately began to put her boots on, pulling them up her leg. Still, no one was answering. But then, from the next room, she heard a name which made the world stop momentarily:

"_Tom Beech…"_

Leaving her mouth to hang open slightly, she blinked away the tears that had formed so quickly and without a warning. Giving up hope in trying to contact the parents of James, she put her coat on and descended the stairs, placing a hand on the handle of the door, she heard her mothers' footsteps above her, and she seemed to be going at a fast pace. Joanne turned and looked up the stairs to see Christy standing there, looking down upon her daughter, tears streaming down her face and panting. "Joanne!" She yelled, letting a small sob out. "Get as far away as you can!" Joanne looked at her bemused for a moment, before following the orders. Turning back around, opening the door, pulling the porch door, she stepped out and ran.

Take a turn right, she ran down the road, now she knew that trying to escape the grasp of the tyrants was not a good idea – especially since she was following a main road. Finding her way down the chemist, she quickly ran down the stairs two at a time, pressing her back against the building as she heard the engines coming toward her like a pack of tigers upon prey. Slowly making her way around the building, she made sure that no cars were following before making her way to the road, down the few roads off Hawthorne Drive, she noticed the activity of the cars as they moved around wildly, they had been informed of her attempted escape and now she knew that maybe trying to get away was a bad idea. Through her wheezing breaths, she shook her head. I have to do this, she told herself, for mum, for James, for Tom and myself. With this in mind, she continued to run through the pain barrier of her asthma – which was already aggravated with the cold weather. She knew the perfect place to seek refuge, now she had the problem of getting there before she knew her legs and – possibly – lungs would give in. She found a place to hide, pressing her back firmly against the wall, leading into the residential home. Breathing deeply, like the doctors had told her to do. A few minutes later, she had regained control over her breathing, looking over the wall, she made sure it was safe to go, once it was, she jumped to her feet and ran.

* * *

The white Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly rolled down the many corridors, his tire tracks being engraved into the dirt, sighing he looked to the doors. Nudging it open slightly, he looked at the multiple other cars in the room. At the end of the room, there was two Hummer H2's, in between them was a human, the bulky figure gave evidence that they were male. A male who was recently caught, or – to be precise – caught the night before. They had covered his head and restricted the air, "let me go!" He dared to argue. 

"Control him," the Rolls-Royce commanded, glaring to the human. The two cars hit his legs, forcing him down to the ground – hearing him whimper loudly, he smiled slightly. "Learn my voice, lad. You're going to be hearing it twenty hours a day the rest of your life. Refer to me as Alpha, your leader. You will answer to my every question. Follow my every command. Never-"

"I'm not going to have a leader!" The human yelled, tugging on the material that held his hands together behind his back. "I'm going to get away before you monsters can do anything!"

Alpha grinned at this. "It's a little too late for that." He nodded his hood, the hummer on the boys' right backed away and turned to face him, the other just backed out of the way. The car facing the human began to move closer, his bumper meeting his leg, forcing him to move sideways slightly. Continuing to do this until he got into a room, once he had done so, the door slammed shut.

"What are you doing!?" The young boy yelled, from the outside, Alpha just laughed before answering:

"Don't worry. It's a delicate process." He motioned with a front tire for the Hummer's to follow him as he began to drive out of the door, once he had left he turned back to them. "Get Doctor Kitt before the procedure is done. He'll be shaken by his appearance to say the least."

* * *

_Safety._

_I have to get to safety._

Joanne continued to run down Hawthorne Drive, she had been doing so on and off for twenty minutes, tears stinging in her eyes as she heard them coming toward her. Now there was no where to hide from them, a place to allow her breathing to calm down into a normal rhythm, no where to change her route. The dirt path leading down to Bealstead brook was silent; she heard her own deep breaths and her footsteps. From behind her, she heard the engines.

_Safety._

_I have to get to safety._

From the right, she heard the leaves rustling; she stopped, praying silently that it was not a car prying upon her. She moved closer, whatever was hiding in the bush was not going to stop moving any time soon, she brushed the leaves away slightly, only for a tall figure to jump out at her, taking her hand and pulled her the opposite side of the conduit. She was pulled up the small dirt hill leading into a forest-like patch of land, she was pushed down by whoever had pulled her here and someone had crouched down next to her. Looking to her side, she asked, "who are you?"

He clasped a rather large hand over her mouth, with the other, signalled her to be silent. She angrily wrapped her fingers around his wrist and attempted to pull him off her until the cars were heard from in front of them. The hand was removed as soon as he saw that she was staring them over, she turned as she felt something poking at her back, looking into the brown eyes of the teenager, he signalled for her to follow. Looking back at the vehicles, they were beginning to go farther into the brook. Casting her vision back behind her, she got up and followed the stranger as he took her deeper between the trees.

* * *

**Authors' Notes**

So. That's part one. Onto other, less important news.

I GOTS A LAPPY-TOP:-D This means I can write downstairs and be with my parents! But, at the moment, I'm being attacked by bees, flies and those big insects which fly and only come out in September. But they come with FORCE.

Haha, so what do you think? Should I re-write it? Some parts I don't think are good enough, but I can't think of any ways to improve on them so… -shrugs-

NEW ADDICTION (although, Linkin Park is still AWESOME). Hinder. You heard them? My girls in the next room, sometimes I wish she was you… I guess we never really moved on…

Reviews please:-D


	4. Friends In Time

**Without My Wings **by Life Is A Highway66

**Shout-Outs  
**potternutter Yes, there was a character call.  
NikChik-11 I've only heard Hinder's version, Lips Of An Angel is still awesome though! n.n Overall, I think they're awesome (-is rocking out to Room 21 as she writes this-). Although, did they bring out more than one album? Me and mum were trying to find them.  
Buick Regal Racecar 56 Ah, I suppose that's a step though ;-)

**Further Notes  
**So. This chapter took longer than I had originally wished it to be. So, sorry D:! Please lower your weapons! I got this part title from _Weight Of The World _(-sings- Freefall, freefall, all through life…) by Evanescence. I seriously recommend this song :-) 'Tis awesome.  
Alex © Apocolypse Dragon  
Nicola © Herself

**Chapter Warnings  
**Back to the "mild language" warning xD! …Sorry people. Also, half way through this, there shall be a quite hyooge time jump o3o

* * *

**Part Two** – Freefall  
Chapter Four – **Friends In Time**

…_And When We Pass Each Other Again, Then I Will Recognise My True Friend_…

The stranger lead Joanne down the dirt path, she followed apprehensively, unsure of where he wanted to take her. He stopped as the dirt terrain changed into the mud. "Who are you?" She asked, he turned around and looked down at her.

"Alex," he answered, "and it's no problem for saving your ass." Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, he continued, "Just follow me." Joanne was somewhat taken back by his comment, but as he walked she continued to follow, carefully making sure that she would not fall in the mud. They soon reached a small field, on the left there was a house, but he went right toward a patch of dirt. A bench in the centre and either side of this was a few trees. In front of it all was a small ditch, part full with water – the main part of the brook – over the other side of this was a field. He turned to her again, placing his hands on her shoulders he said slowly, "Stay here."

She did so. Alex went across the brook and through the tall grass for a moment, she sat upon the bench, waiting for him to come back, when at last he did, he was not alone. Three others followed. The first was female, shorter than all the rest (at an estimate, Joanne guessed that she barely came past five feet tall), her hair was reaching just passed her shoulders before curling round, also, her weight could not have been a large number either. Behind her was another female. Brunette, a slightly large figure on her and yet she was smaller than Joanne, even though she was still a while a way, she could tell (in the way her back arched forward slightly, her shoulders held high and always looking left or right) she had a threatening feel about her. The last was another male, seemingly the same age as Alex, large build and – at Joanne's best estimate – only a few inches taller than herself.

She stood as they approached her, the group stood in one line in front of her, Alex stepped forward, standing at her side, he pointed to the girl with the shortest hair. "That's Nicola." From her pocket, she pulled out a pair of glasses; the lenses were dirty and as she put them on, Joanne wondered how they made her eyesight better. Pointing to the other girl, "Laura." Shifting uncomfortable in her place as she felt the other females' eyes expecting her body, she quickly adverted her attention to the last person. "That's Kenneth." She smiled shyly.

"Hi," she said timidly, managing to keep her hands down and resisting the urge to fiddle with her hair, "I'm Joanne." The others seemed uninterested at her arrival, and just returned to their activities. For Laura and Kenneth this was throwing small stones into the water, making the liquid ripple momentarily before returning to its original state, reflecting the sky perfectly. Joanne – noticing that Nicola and Alex were about to walk away from her – swiftly chased after them. "What are you even doing here?" The two stopped at the sound of her voice and turned to face her.

"I know you don't like the cars," Nicola began, "no one does. But we're hoping to get together a group of people and do what no one's ever done before. We're planning to rebel. Trying to get the human race back into power, where we're supposed to be. At the moment, we've got a few groups like this scattered out around the country, but in two years time we hope to create a secret group, where almost all citizens of the United Kingdom are ready for the biggest revolt this country may have ever seen, meanwhile, we're planning on moving our boarders to Spain, France, Germany and maybe even America."

Joanne was silent for a moment, allowing the plan to process, but her words refused to make sense. "That's a good plan," she said, beginning to think about how to word her question, "but, that would never work. I mean, how many are there of them? And how many are there of us? They outnumber and overpower us.

Nicola curled her lip slightly, forming a half-smile, "that's what _they _always said. We're not alone in this. The others just refuse to show." Joanne looked to Alex, bemused by her sudden statement and hoping to get some sort of explanation to it, however, she received none.

"Don't worry about her," was the only reply she received. "She's crazy. Never making sense. Just ignore her, the only reason she's still here is because we can't find a padded cell." He grinned, casting his attention toward the other female.

"Oh, haha," Nicola said sarcastically, punching his arm lightly, just as quick as she had become sardonic, her usual expressions were upon her face again, "I'm serious though, there's some others out there – maybe closer then any of us could imagine."

For a moment, Joanne thought about what she said.

* * *

It was a three months later that the low temperature held them in their place, seemingly freezing them with a tight embrace of coldness. Brown eyes of the Land Rover Discovery surveying the building, they had entered it in hope that it would shield them from the bitter evening weather, but with its walls beginning to fall, it was one of the few things it had not provided. On the far right, the scarlet BMW M3 Coupe looked around, being ready to glare at any cars that might appear near them, in the middle a yellow Mitsubishi Evolution shivered, her breath causing small clouds suspended in the air and on the other side of her, the maroon 1993 Land Rover Discovery lifted his tire and spun it, after a few moments of doing this, he smiled – a plan beginning to unfold. Putting his tire back onto the ground, he did the same with the others. "What are you doing?" The BMW asked, half his windshield rose in confusion. The Land Rover raised the tire nearest to him, spinning it. The BMW was still bemused as to why the furthest vehicle was doing it.

The four-by-four just rolled his eyes and shook his hood. "If I can drive around-" He spun his tire once again "-That means I can open these clamps right?" He explained bluntly. The M3 smiled at this.

"So why are you _there_ for?"

"Chill out," the Land Rover told him, beside him the smallest of the three began to shiver, the other leapt to the opportunity automatically.

The BMW chuckled, with a flirtatious grin he shuffled closer to the female. "Maybe I should keep you warm, Sarah." As their fenders touched, she shook her hood, but it seemed to merge with her quivering as her breath continued to make misty clouds in the air. "Aw… C'mon." The Land Rover smiled, pressing his wheel against the lever, opening the first of her two clamps before doing the same to the other. "Why not?" The Mitsubishi shuffled closer toward the Land Rover, who drove slowly around her and in between the two, unlocking each of their clamps in turn. "What exactly do you hope on doing after this?"

The Land Rover paused for a moment. "No idea to be honest," he admitted, beginning to survey his surroundings, "I just know we shouldn't be here and that we're all here because we didn't listen to people." Sarah closed her eyes with guilt, breathing deeply as tears threatened in her eyes.

"Yeah," she said, holding back her tears the best of her ability, "my boyfriend told me to meet him, but my mum tried to keep me in. In the end I just climbed out of the window."

"Where is your boyfriend now?"

At this question, the tears flowed freely from Sarah, "he ran away when we were spotted." She squeezed her eyes shut harder, as memories of her capture began to haunt her.

* * *

_Midnight stars were dotted upon their black net background, the moon covered slightly by dark night clouds and it was a perfect for the two adolescents who sat on a low branch of the Monkey Tree – and there was nowhere else that they would have rather been, but so many places that they should have been. "Mm," Sarah said to herself through chattering teeth as her seemingly fragile body quivered, but happiness swelled within her while she was with her boyfriend. "Should we be getting back?"_

_A hand with a firm grip found its way onto the side of her face. "Not yet," he whispered, pressing his lips against the top of her head, and the happiness turned to warmth – yet, the cold continued to pester her. To their left, a manor stood. What they had called "their tree" was one of the most dangerous to hide in the park – the manor was home to the mayor of Ipswich, and the mayor of Ipswich was a car. Being out past curfew was basically asking to be captured, and even worse was that they had broken yet another rule by falling in love two years early._

"_What happens if they find us?" She asked, pulling his jacket closer to her body as it was slung over her shoulders. Paranoia beginning to take over, and if they were to become captives of cars, there would only be herself to blame. Her mother had told her not to go and to reinforce this she had been forced to stay in her room – her bedroom door under constant surveillance to make sure that she did not attempt an escape. But it seemed that her parents were naïve enough to forget another means of freedom. Her window. Nothing would ever keep Sarah and Paul away from each other, most had concluded. _

"_We'll take what comes," he whispered, his hushed voice becoming tense. Had he spotted something? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying her hardest to throw the thought aside, but it was no use. "No matter what they do, no matter the distance, nothing can stop me from loving you." As much as his words reassured her, they were not enough for her fear to subside. _

"_Paul," she began, lifting her head from his chest, "please. I want to get out of here. I seriously don't like it." A sudden rush of emotion hit her like an oncoming train, the tears fell freely from her hazel eyes and she let a loud sob escape. "_Please_! We have to get out of here!" But, while she was caught up with her pleas to get to safety and he was busy calming her, neither noticed the shadowed figure approaching them. _

_Headlights flickered onto a high beam; the two humans looked swiftly behind them, a 1980 Bentley Mulsanne, grinning at the two. "Ah, yes. Getting out of here would have been the wisest of ideas." _

"_Shit!" Paul cried, jumping from his perch on the tree and making a quick escape, leaving his girlfriend behind, if she was not still looking at the car in pure terror still, she would have called after him and followed._

"_You follow," it snarled, slowly moving across the dirt terrain, vegetation crunching beneath its tires, "I swear I will kill you." She whimpered with fear under her breath and gripped the bark of the tree as the Bentley continued to move closer, resisting the urge to follow in the footprints of her boyfriend – but she knew that it was no an option to do so. Her muscles tensed as it got as close as it possibly could to her, "Now. Cooperate and it will be easier for both of us." Its door opened, "Get in." She stared at it briefly, but noticing the scowl beginning to grow upon its bumper and its eyes beginning to fill with pure hatred, she quickly changed her mind. Hopping from the tree, she slipped into the seat, squeezing her eyes shut to contain her tears as the engine roared and rear tires spun, sending terrain into the air and it begun the journey westbound to the edge of town.

* * *

_

The Land Rover nuzzled the sobbing Mitsubishi tenderly as she leant against him for support, even though he did not find her tale of capture particularly heart-wrenching like his own, he certainly deemed it powerful. "He obviously isn't a real friend," he said, in an attempt to calm her. But as her tears slowed down to a steady stream, the BMW put in a very unwanted comment.

"Maybe I should just leave you two alone," he said, rolling his eyes. Sarah began to sob again, and the 1993 Discovery passed a hard glare to the other male.

"Don't be dumb," he scowled, beginning to nuzzle her comfortingly again, "she's upset. What about you? How did you end up here?"

"Well," the car in question began, looking to the floor and found interest in pulling the dirt around his tires into a pile, "me and my friends used to go to this thing every month, after the previous we go chased but managed to get away. All that month I guess we were wanted." He took a deep breath, this was the first time since he had become a car that he overlooked everything which had happened the months prior to his arrest, "Then the next time," he continued, "Joanne wasn't allowed to go, it was just me and James, he must have gotten away when I was captured." He looked to the floor, blinking away the tears that had suddenly built up.

"Joanne," The Land Rover began quietly and full of thought, "wasn't allowed or wouldn't go?"

"Not allowed, James called her while we were waiting for her outside," he looked up, a tear escaping, screwing his eyes up in an attempt to not cry in front of them, "she told us not to go."

"So you didn't listen to your best friend, which is why you're here alone?"

He cracked an eye open and looked to the four-by-four beside him, "Yeah," he answered. They stayed a moment in silence, Sarah continuing to whimper to herself and his own tears began to dry, "anyway, why are you here?"

The Land Rover opened his mouth to talk, but not such a sound was made, instead, it sounded as if he was choking on something. "I- Well-" He continued to stutter like this for a few moments.

"C'mon," the M3 began an attempt to encourage the story out of him, "we've both told you how we got here." The Discovery looked to his right to the left and the Mitsubishi nodded. With a deep breath, he began with tears beading in his eyes:

"A group of kids had agreed to meet at the playing field for a bonfire night thing. My best friend, Rachael, was among them and persuaded the others to invite me. She came to my house and we went together, arriving just after the sun dropped below the horizon when most of the other kids were already there, with a big pile of fireworks. I had brought a rocket to set off. Rachael introduced me to the other kids, most of which called me names. One of them turned on a stereo and began playing Linkin Park – Rachael had requested the CD for me, knowing they were my favourite band." He paused at the statement, looking to the floor, "she was my only real friend."

"Did she get caught?"

He looked to the BMW, "I'm not done yet. Anyway, as the night progressed, everyone started to enjoy themselves and I set the fireworks off, Rachael brought me a can of Coke and I took it-" He stopped again with a sniff. "I'm rambling. Anyway, later on, I could have sworn that I had heard car engines and saw two lights, but I looked away and looked back and they were gone."

"Then?"

"People started making jokes. Calling me scaredy and stuff so I set off another firework and dozens of cars came from nowhere." He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, determined to hold back his own tears until he had finished, "I could hardly see." He whimpered slightly, holding back a sob as he remember Rachael's cry of pain and mercy, "Rachael… She was under the wheel of a Land Rover. He threatened me. Telling me not to move. If I did, then he'd kill Rachael. But she was telling me to run, and I seriously didn't know what to do. I tried to run but was surrounded again before I could get anywhere. And the Discovery he…" For a moment, the sentence remained unspoken of.

"He what?" The BMW asked, but the question was unanswered for a moment as the other car broke down in tears, moving closer he looked up to him in interest, and yet his eyes were full of sympathy, "what did he do?"

The Land Rover quietened his sobs momentarily to answer, "He crushed her beneath his wheel." He continued sobbing, harder this time and dropped to the floor. Sarah watched him, worry evident in each of her expressions; she leant against him again and began to nuzzle him comfortingly.

"C'mon," The BMW said, beginning to overcome the shock caused by the Discovery's account of his capture, "we have to get out of here." Beside him, the car just took a deep and shaking breath, trying to get a word out without a sob occupying it.

"Why?" He asked, "I have nothing to go back to."

"But it's better than staying here." Was the response, for a moment, he was not won over by this comment and continued to stare at the ground as the tears rolled down his sides and hood at a steady pace. "Would you rather escape or become something that killed your friend?"

Again, the Land Rover was silent for a moment, thinking about what he said in between sniffing, looked to his right to the BMW, he got back up shakily onto his wheels, "I guess you're right, but what do I do next? After getting you two out?"

The Mitsubishi to his left let a small smile cross her bumper – showing her shyness of what she was going to say. "Uh… You could come with me if you'd like."

The BMW found it hard to hide his grin as a thought overcame him. The Land Rover – by this time – was standing at his full height on his wheels, blinking away his remaining tears. The M3 could not contain his smirk any longer, letting his lips curl he said, "that's the last thing this world needs. You two continuing the species of Cars." He chuckled to himself as Sarah frowned at him.

"That's not what I meant," she snapped.

His laughter was louder and more meaningful this time. "Oh?" He began, his grin still growing, "how did you mean it then?"

She looked to the Land Rover, of who was backing away from the two, bobbing up and down as the clamp reached the ground and raised him, before going around his wheel arch and the cycle began again, making his way to the other side of the BMW. "I meant that he could be my friend." She explained, but as soon as she had done so, blushed slightly.

"And for some strange reason, I get the feeling you're lying…"

"I am not."

The Land Rover smiled to himself, listening to the immature conversation unravelling before him, the two seemed to forget that there was much more to worry about than whether or not the Mitsubishi found the need to mate with him. Lifting his tire, he placed it on the release lever and with a loud 'clang', it opened, doing the same to the other, the BMW and Sarah were free to manoeuvre around. "Can you open my clamps?" He asked, the two immediately stopped the conversation and cast their attention toward him. Tom looked down to his wheel, remembering how he had been released, he too pressed down on the lever, opening the first and then doing the same to the remaining on his right. He flinched at the loud sound.

"What if one of them hears us?" He asked, looking into his rear view mirror. The Land Rover instantly presumed that 'them' were the normal (as it were) Cars.

"I'll think of something," he answered, "that's what I'm good at. Anyway, there's two more on the other side."

"Sarah can do those, can't she?" In response, the Evolution drove behind the two males and pulled slowly to a stop on the other side of the Land Rover, pressing her own wheel against the lever, when she did not succeed, she pressed down harder, lifting her as high as she could reach. The BMW rolled his eyes, "I'll take that as a no." He backed away and rolled next to him (Sarah just backed away and looked to the floor in embarrassment as he approached), releasing the remaining clamps. He smiled with satisfaction, "now, we get out." The Land Rover nodded, looking into his mirror, he could barely make out a fence toward behind them. White glows shone from his taillights and headlights as his gears changed to reverse and he turned to face the opposite direction.

"C'mon," he waved back to the two, as he advanced upon the fence, he pressed against it. Once he realised that it was getting him nowhere, he backed away and glared at the mesh. Changing to reverse once again, he backed away, counting to ten. Once he had reached the last number, he began to drive forward again, accelerating all the way until he had ploughed through the fence, once from the imprisonment he slid to a stop in the street.

The BMW inspected the hole left in the barrier, he looked at the first escapee as he shook the remains of what he had destroyed off himself, "you could have chosen a more quiet way of escaping." True, the braking of the barrier had not been the quietest of things, but out of all the noise they had made during removing the clamps, they were surprised that they had not been stopped yet.

However, the trio were free.

* * *

**Authors' Notes**

Okay, if the Land Rover's and the BMW's stories aren't familiar, I swear I will not be happy. And I suggest you go and re-read this story, because then you'll be able to tell who the hell I was on about during the majority of this chapter. Which I enjoyed writing :-D (my dad kept moaning at me because I was laughing at the "there was much more things to worry about than whether or not the Mitsubishi found the need to mate with him" sentence x3). Also. Look out for Signal Fire soon :-) It's gonna be goooood.

The Monkey Tree holds great memories. Me and Daniel almost got killed there. A branch fell down literally like five seconds after we heard the creek and decided it would be best to run (it was our brothers faults, THEY were the ones climbing all over it ¬¬). And there is a manor next to it, which is used as a home to those with cancer. Also, no, the mayor of Ipswich is NOT a car (at least I hope not O.O;). From the beginning of the flashback down, all of that was written in one day -dies-

Current music addiction: Transformers soundtrack 8D;? "Am I the best? I have to put it bluntly: Yes." xD (although I've been listening to The Lion King music a lot at the moment ;.;). Now. Beware the crappy little parody of Passion's Killing Floor by H.I.M.

My heart's a graveyard baby, and to evil we make love, on those reviews killing floor. (-is shot by all readers and run down by a load of cars- x.X)

Other awesome songs you should check out from that CD: What I've Done (Linkin Park), Doomsday Clock (Smashing Pumpkins), Before It's Too Late (Goo Goo Dolls), Technical Difficulties (Julian-K), Transformers Theme (Mute Math). n.n


	5. Nothing Else Matters

**Without My Wings **by Life Is A Highway66

**Shout-Outs**

potternutter I knoes! They're incredibly cruel :-P  
Buick Regal RaceCar 56 Thank you! C:  
Silver11k Thanks :-)

**Further Notes**  
-shoots everything that went wrong during the writing of this chapter with an AK-47- Four months later, you finally get a new piece of this! Whey? Eight pages and a shit load of descriptions. …Refreshments anyone? Also, did you know you can now HIRE me to betaread your stories!? xD

**Chapter Warning**  
Strong language. Nothing new. Also, peoples will go OOC. :-O And there be an implied fem. slash! ZOMFG! AND RIDICULOUSLY LONG CHAPTER. I'm seriously sorry.

* * *

**Part Two **– Freefall  
Chapter Five – **Nothing Else Matters**

…_Couldn't Be Much More From The Heart, Forever Trusting Who We Are_…

The BMW drove through the hole of which was a seemingly perfect shape of the Land Rover in front of him, "so," the Coupe began, looking to his wing mirror to make sure that Sarah was following as his tires took their first feeling of the tarmac on the road, "now we're out. What do we do?" As he finished his query, Sarah trailed him, looking at the hole as a feeling of intimidation overcame her – caused by the sheer size of it.

The Discovery looked down the floor as a slight feeling of frustration overcame him, "This is what I was talking about in the first place," he sighed, looking up to his two companions, "we can't go anywhere or do anything." There was a brief moment as the three contemplated which way to go, but they all had one thing in common: They never wanted to be near the base again.

"We should go and see what there is to do," the BMW was the first to suggest. Sarah and the Land Rover exchanged a swift glance, before casting their attention back on the other Car.

"I don't see anything better to do," she shrugged, a movement including her entire body, before nudging the Discovery's wheel with her own, "c'mon, Eddy, let's go." The Land Rover nodded in agreement, and the three Cars began to drive toward nowhere.

The BMW chuckled loudly to himself, looking around in an attempt to find any humans, but there were none. But as they approached the first junction, he caught sight of a small group walking at a rather fast pace away from them. "I say we go and scare some people."

Sarah looked to him unsurely, once again being swamped by thoughts of her capture, "I don't think that's a good idea." She cast her attention toward him, "but I'm not stopping you. If you want to, go. But I'd rather not."

"Aww," The BMW mocked his dismay, he looked to Eddy, "you'd come with me, right?"

He did not answer for some time, nor did he even look at the Car, he was much too busy drowning in his sorrow. Retelling the story of his capture had been a realization as to how selfish he had been – picking his own freedom over his best (and only) friends _life_. He sighed deeply. "I think you should go and find Joanne and show her what's happened to you." He looked down to his tire, "we can use this look to get unparalleled access to anything."

He had a point, the BMW concluded, he looked to each of his companions in turn, "I suppose so." His tone and choice of words made him seem apprehensive about doing so, but he felt nothing of the sort. It was more of a fear. "You coming?" Eddy was the first to agree to join him.

"I'm going if Eddy's going," Sarah told in her usual hesitant and quiet voice that she always spoke, she glared up to the BMW as he chuckled quietly to himself, he was concentrating on the road ahead with a large grin plastered on his bumper. She managed to muster a low growl as she heard him mutter to himself, angered by the fact that she knew too well that his comment was to do with the conversation that took place minutes prior to this. Eddy picked up on this almost instantly.

"So where does she live?" He asked, attempting to change the atmosphere that lingered around the three from one of tension to unity as quickly as possible. He began his way further into the town eastward.

"Just follow me," the BMW told, accelerating in front of the other male in the group, and from there they travelled in silence. The M3 found it a slightly strange sensation as his wheels glided along the asphalt, and he did not even want to think about the source of light he was using. He looked momentarily into his side view mirrors, the two did not seem to be the unnerved by the same things that he was. But when he put his worries aside, he was surprised at how fast they managed to reach the now derelict town centre. "I still say we go and scare some people." He broke the silence.

"I already said that it was a bad idea," Sarah said, casting a small glare to him, although she was fully aware that he could not see it.

"Why?"

This time, Eddy was the one to answer. "Because that's what they would do." Sarah nodded slightly in agreement, the other just frowned vaguely as he realised something somewhat obvious.

"In case you're too slow to pick up on this," he began, his tone a mixture of anger and sorrow, "We _are_ 'they'." There was a moment of awkward silence.

"No we're not," Eddy protested quietly, in a meek voice that almost sounded as if he was trying to convince not only them, but himself too, "we just look like them."

Sarah looked down to her wheel, and in the glance also managed to get a view of herself, "but we are them." By the end of her sentence, her voice had become a whisper, and as she continued, it gradually grew quieter, "What if we are just like them?"

The last Car nodded slightly, "exactly." There was another moment of silence. Eddy looked down his hood, expressions made it clear that he was dismayed by the events that had occurred. "Face it, Eddy, we can't run and hide forever, they're going to catch us sometime and then we're going to become just like them." The Land Rover in question did not say anything to this; he looked back up to the road and tried to banish the sadness. "Why are we even going to find Jo anyway?"

"Because she's your friend."

He sighed quietly to himself, catching a quick glimpse of his reflection in the glass building; he drove up the curb, onto the pavement and stopped in front of the structure "What if she doesn't believe me?" He squeezed his eyes shut and held back a whimper.

Eddy stopped behind him, looking at his own reflection over the small Coupe, he watched the other for a few brief moments, "if she doesn't, you still have us." The BMW managed to open an eye to look at the Land Rover, he deeply breathed in to stop himself from crying even more than he was as he saw the four by four attempting to silently comfort him. Sarah drove between the pane of glass and the M3. With a deep sigh she began to look herself over.

"What the Hell did we do to deserve this?" The BMW groaned in annoyance and sadness.

Eddy tore his gaze away from his reflection for a moment as he answered quietly, "We didn't."

There was another silence between the three. Sarah sighed again, however much the events that had occurred to her over the past seven months were tragic, she felt slightly reassured that she had the two of them with her, and they had been through the same as she had been. The BMW broke the stillness, "so, is there a way we can find out if we _are _ourselves?"

"If we are who we think we are-" Sarah stopped mid-sentence the BMW M3 Coupe definitely had a point, and so she just answered with a simple, "I don't know."

"You could," The Land Rover put in his views, "by finding Joanne." He stood up straight on his wheels and looked around the road as a thought overcame him, "it's quiet. Shouldn't there be hordes of chavs roaming the street throwing eggs at us?"

"I don't know," the BMW answered first, standing on his wheels too as he began to expect the dark environment, "nobody's out, probably." He sighed as the memories of the last Indie Night came back to him, and with a small voice he ended the sentence, "curfew."

"It's not that late."

"Still," he shrugged, "everyone's probably hiding like, 'it's a Car! Shit! Hide!'" His expressions instantly turned to anger at himself as he realised that he had acted the same toward the dictators, and what if they were in some way the same way as they were? They would have most likely have felt the same as he had predicted he would feel if they had acted the same way toward himself. He shook his hood slightly as he found himself engulfed in his thoughts.

"Hmm," Eddy began, also in deep thought about the events that had happened, "becoming a Car has made things better during the day but Hell at night."

The BMW raised part of his windshield in confusion, "What?"

"Seconding what Tom said," Sarah added.

"The chavs have been routed because of what happened," he began explaining, "but it's also brought a stop to our night activities. Music and such."

Tom looked to him miserably; he had made a point, although there was something that seemed to have slipped the Land Rover's mind. "Not now that we're Cars, we don't have to go by _any_body's rules."

There was a moment were a smile found its way to Eddy's bumper, however it soon passed. "True, but we can no longer do the things that we would have usually enjoyed doing. How can I play computer games, draw, or anything like that?"

Tom gazed at him again, an expression of pity upon his expressions, "Maybe there's just some hobbies you're going to have to sacrifice."

"I could, I suppose, get a CD with all my favourite songs on," the Discovery looked down to the ground and shuffled his wheel slightly, "I can't even use the model railway my dad and I built-"

"Look!" Tom yelled, beginning to grow aggravated at the way he was acting, "we've just got to make the most of this! Get more hobbies!" The other male looked away, the BMW just sighed. Sarah rapidly picked up the growing friction.

"C'mon, let's go and find your friend," she attempted to change the atmosphere that lingered around the three. Tom was the first to move, she vaguely heard him muttering angrily to himself as he done so, she glanced over to Eddy worriedly before following the BMW. The Land Rover trailed, lagging behind slightly as he looked to the floor, wondering what he could do with his life. As the trio entered the road in which Joanne resided, Tom slowly stopped, looking down the hill leading into Gippeswyck Park, Sarah was by his side, also staring – but not out of sorrow, as was the case with Tom, out of confusion.

"That's where the Audi almost caught us," he muttered, looking to the ground but then back up to the Mitsubishi, behind her he caught sight of Eddy, seemingly trying to hide behind the corner, "all of us."

"C'mon," Sarah began, encouragingly nudging his bumper, "you're alright now, we need to find Joanne." He nodded before continuing down the road, he looked to his left and he instantly noticed the school, the one place he hated that held so many good memories, a short while after he noticed this he stopped in front of a house. Cut off by a brick wall, but a gap in between the two parts to allow a vehicle to get to the house if they wished to interrogate any of the residents. One side of the block paving was a small strip of stones, the other side was the same, but plants were intertwining the small rocks.

"She should be here," he said quietly, just loud enough for Sarah to hear. Eddy stopped on the side of the road behind the two as they approached the lodging. Tom paused slightly, what was he supposed to say? He was afraid to say the least in case his friend did not believe him, nonetheless he moved nearer to the window, but stopped as the Land Rover rolled closer slightly.

"I suggest you call her by her full name if it's her mother," he told, "or someone other than her. And then call her by her full first name when she comes out."

"What?" Tom asked in confusion, "Call her mum by her first name?"

"No." Eddy's expressions showed that he was still slightly angered by what had happened, "if her mother or father come to the door ask for Joanne by her full name."

Tom paused for a moment; looking to his reflection he questioned whether or not he should tell the Discovery that his friends' father had been captured, he put it to the back of his mind to focus on more important and recent events, "okay." He whispered to himself, knocking on the door as hard as he could with a tire. Sarah reversed onto the road next to the SUV as a woman slowly opened the door when it was fully opened she gasped and stared at the biggest vehicle in the group, as soon as he noticed the woman (who he had guessed was Joanne's mother) gaping, he stood straight on his wheels, trying to look like an official. "Hey Christy," Tom began, "is Joanne Christina Livingstone home?"

Her eyes widened at this, "Well, no." Her voice was shaking in nervousness, never had she come across a group of vehicles who were as polite to her as these three were, "She's gone already," she looked to the ground, "I- I presumed you had already caught her." This time her eyes were wide with happiness, her daughter had survived!

"What!?" Tom yelled, tears instantly filling his eyes, getting to see his friend was not as simple as he had hoped, though he soon realised that nothing was as simple as it seemed.

"This is not good," Eddy put his comment in, but his voice was much deeper than usual, he looked to Sarah, who returned the worried gaze.

"Are you sure she got captured?" Tom asked, his voice breaking as his tears began to escape slowly, despite his attempts of keeping a strong face whilst in front of his friends' mother, but as soon as he had asked his question, Christy's expressions slowly became free of fear.

"God knows," she answered, her voice was still tense, "I thought you would know, I suppose things are strange nowadays."

"Tom!" Eddy yelled, but still he did not sound like himself, he frowned when he realised that it seemed impossible to get the M3's attention, "We have to find her!" But he still did not turn around, nor did he even acknowledge the fact that he had heard so the Land Rover yelled louder, "We have to find that girl!"

"How!?" The Car in question yelled, obviously angered at the fact that his companion was continually repeating his enquiry, he looked to Sarah as she reversed onto the road and revved her engine loudly.

"Ask around," was the reply he got from the Land Rover, his voice still not returning to its usual tone, "One of the kids around here must know where she is."

Christy apprehensively stepped out of the house, pulling her dressing gown against her body even more than she was doing so as the cold weather had already made her shiver. "I can help," she told timidly, she pointed her right finger down the road, "I sent her off in that direction."

The Discovery turned to her, "Down there?" He looked to where she was pointing, "How long ago?"

Her hopeful expressions instantly changed to dismay as she realised how long ago it had been the she had not seen her daughter, "Quite a while ago. She might not have gotten very far. She was being chased."

"By whom?"

"Cars." She answered in a whisper; the Cars were scarcely able to hear her.

There was a moment of silence, in which Tom waited for the Land Rover to suggest something of which they could do, but when he received nothing, he reversed onto the road, "c'mon!" But still the four-by-four stayed, seemingly continuing to think, "Eddy! Come on!"

The Land Rover had finally decided to move as he revved and quickly got back onto the road, "We need to hurry." At first he had lurched forward, but then he had gone down the road, but Sarah and Tom had caught up to him in a short amount of time. He frowned as the BMW asked where she might have been. "Looking for cover," he answered, "Warehouses, derelict buildings, under bridges."

The last had caught Tom's attention, there was only one main bridge in Ipswich, the Orwell Bridge, but he knew that Joanne would not dare go that far, nor did she know the way to get there. But then there was another suggestion. "The brook!" The Land Rover looked to him, and was soon told to lead the way.

* * *

Christy stared down the road at where the three Cars had juts gone, overwhelmed with shock as she remembered the name the Land Rover Discovery had used to refer to the BMW. She shook her head.

Tom?

That was not possible.

* * *

There was a silence, that night, a silence that did not bode well with Joanne as she sat at the edge of the water, watching the others in the group that resided at the brook. Things had changed a lot since she had joined them. Both in the way she had viewed her previous home and the relationships between each of the group. Kenneth was barely visible as he done the same as she was doing, only around the slight curve of the water. She sighed, out of all of them, she had spent the least amount of time with him, and yet seemed to like the most; liked like she had not done so with someone since she had last seen James, but she blamed that she had not seen him for almost a year and how in some of the actions Kenneth would do reminded her of her captured friend. But then there was Laura, because of her, Joanne now realised that she could never have a relationship, for the two females and announced that they were more than friends two months ago, she looked over to the long strands of grass, where she was crouched down, watching the few Cars travel down the A14 swiftly. Nicola would always be there to talk to, and she cherished their friendship, but as she looked around, the girl in question was nowhere to be seen. Then, lastly there was Alex. He had become more like a brother toward her, as she was going to look for him; she was pushed into the water. "Shit!" She yelled in shock, trying to grab onto something, but there was nothing, and she soon found herself sitting in the muddy water.

Alex laughed, and seemed he would not stop doing so for a while.

"Very funny," She glared up to him, she stood and crawled back up onto the bank, she was going to do the same as he had done to her, but before she could do so Nicola was running toward the two as fast as she could.

"Cars!" She yelled, urgency in her voice, the others gasped and crowded around her, "Coming from Bealstead House!" The group did not hesitate but to run over to the group of trees on their left, where there was a small hut hidden in the shadows. They had done this many times before, but not under threat by Cars, she had not come close to a Car since she was chased to where she was then. She took her place at the back of the shed, with Laura with a strong grasp on her shoulder, making sure that she would not go anywhere.

Joanne looked around, but something did not seem quite right. Someone seemed missing. Her eyes widened with realisation, there _was_someone missing.

_Alex! _Her mind screamed, "He's still out there!"

* * *

Tom was in front of the other two, determined to find his friend down at the rivulet, at first they passed the Bealstead House, he eyed the inn but quickly assumed that (if she had been chased), they would have caught her by now if she had stayed in such a place. After driving fairly swiftly down the muddy path he soon reached the bridge. "Okay," he was barely able to keep his voice under control, "look around. Quickly."

Eddy looked to his left and then right. "No sign." The two watched briefly as Sarah made her way over the bridge, after, however, Tom did not waver to look behind the trees and various other kinds of vegetation they found.

"A little bit more enthusiasm than that, Eddy!"

The four-by-four chuckled, before jumping into the brook. The water splashed up his own side, and onto the bank, but when it had cleared, he was gone. Driving down the stream, continuing to look left and right. Once reaching the end of the river, he climbed out of the water, and stood there briefly with the liquid dripping onto the grass as he questioned himself exactly why he was looking for the BMW's former friend. _He's your friend, _he told himself,_It's a small favour. _Then again, if it were not for the events with the Cars, he would have never come across Tom. Another thought crept into mind, maybe he wished the hurt her. He pushed the thoughts aside as he began to search the surrounding trees. He ignored the sound of leaves behind him, the wind was blowing slightly – as was expected as the Winter began. He jumped as he felt something jump onto his foot plate – or some_one_. "Who's that!?" He yelled, glaring behind him, braking hard and lurching forward slightly,

"What do you want!?" A male voice yelled back, the Car attempted to get a look at him again, but could not prevail. Instead, he just turned around and began to drive away slowly, feeling the weight still.

"My friends and I," he began slowly, "We're looking for someone." The human (he had presumed) continued to cling on, pressing the hammer hard against his rear door as the interrogations continued. It was not long until they found themselves with Sarah and Tom. "I've got a passenger, but he won't let go or tell me if he knows where Joanne is." The BMW looked to the teenager who was had been clinging onto the rear of the Land Rover.

"Do you know her?"

He grasped the hammer and jumped off, eyeing each of the cars suspiciously in turn. The Mitsubishi had a shy look about it, and yet 'it' seemed, in more ways than not, female. The BMW, on the other hand, seemed like the SUV behind him, except a mixture of feelings seemed to dwell upon his features – anger, sadness and hope. "Why are you here?" He asked, suspicion remained in his voice.

"And my question goes unanswered!" Tom yelled angrily.

"I'm not answering any of your questions you monsters!"

The M3 continued to defend himself, however, he glared at the human before him, "look, what makes _us _monsters?" He asked, waiting for an answer, but when he received none, he continued to finish, "we haven't done anything."

"You're Cars, don't play dumb."

"Cars who haven't done anything," He retorted.

Alex stared at the Car for a while, he did not want to put the life of his friend in danger because of the creature before him, and yet, something continued to pester him that there was something different about the BMW. "I might," he answered, his tone tenser but not carrying as much mistrust, "why do you want to know?"

"She's my friend," his voice becoming much calmer and patient in an instant, "I just want to show her something."

"I do," Alex told, "I know where she is." He stood between the three, listening to them asking where she was exactly and what she was doing in such a place, and for such a long period of time. It was silent for a moment, in which he agreed with what was once just a distance buzz: There was something different about the three, but it was not a bad 'different', it was for the better. Maybe there was hope on the horizon for the human race, if the newer Cars had become like them, they too could revolt against the dictators, and the world could live like it had again, even with all of this, he knew one thing for certain; they meant no harm to Joanne. "I'll take you to her, just promise you won't hurt her or any of us."

* * *

The silence that hung in the air was awkward in the shed, Nicola was tapping on the wall gently, creating an ever growingly irritating sound against the metal, Kenneth was staring at the door, awaiting the arrival of the self-proclaimed leader of the group. Joanne also stared at the only entrance to the hideout as Laura had an arm around her shoulders, looking to the ground and hoping that he would return soon. "Something's not right," Nicola whispered, but Joanne stood and glared.

"No. No there isn't." She attempted to reassure the group and herself. "He's fine. He's going to come back."

Nicola scoffed at this, "If he was, he'd be back by now." The others looked up in interest as they continued to argue about the wellbeing of Alex, the two sighed, not bothering to take sides. However, it wasn't until the door swung open that the silence overtook again. Seeing Alex standing in the doorway, Joanne looked over to Nicola and grinned smugly to herself.

The teenager of who they had been waiting for looked to her, opening his mouth to say something but only managed to come out with a slight, "Um…" He looked behind him unsurely before looking back to Joanne, "some guy called Tom has come looking for you, he says he needs to show you something."

She had stopped listening as soon as he had mentioned his friends' name, her mind paused. Tom? She looked up to him in bewilderment, she must have misheard him, there was no possibility that he had escaped the Cars, no one ever had, and she knew it was not going to change for one person, especially since how naïve he could be at times. "Tom?" She whispered, but a smile rapidly found its way onto her face as she yelled excitedly, "but he'd been captured!" Tears of happiness streamed down her face.

"He's outside," Alex said unsurely, not knowing how exactly to tell her his current appearance, so he told her in the only way he knew, "you might be a little surprised though."

"What?" She asked, squinting confused eyes at him, she walked closer toward the door and, as he moved out of the way, poked her head just outside of the door. There they were. He was lying. Just as he thought. There was no human like she had been tricked into believing there was, but instead three Cars, all staring at the door. Trying to get their features to look at least a bit friendly. They failed miserably. She ran back to the back of the shed, where she was safe with Laura. "Tom is _not _out there!"

"That's the point, he is." He hoped that she would finally have the sense to understand what he was trying to hint of what had happened during her friends absence, but seeing that she was still staring fearfully outside the hut, he added, "he was caught along with a couple of other kids, that's them outside."

She pointed an accusing finger at him. "_Don't _lie to me!"

"I'm not. I'm serious, he's the M3."

She threw herself toward him, crying onto his chest, expecting at least a small piece of sympathy, but she received none. "It's impossible though."

He let her sob onto him, but he did not move, he continued to look forward, as if she was still standing there, "They told me that they were using some sort of new technology to change people into Cars." He frowned. That certainly made no sense.

She looked from the chest of her friend, over to the Car who she had been convinced was Tom, who seeing her eyes making contact with his smiled shyly. "Hey." He managed to get himself to say. The Land Rover turned swiftly away, and stared at the reflection in the brook, however the Mitsubishi looked to the ground a blushed slightly. He looked between the two of the other Cars, "What's wrong with you?" Realising that he was not going to be receiving an answer from the four-by-four, he gave the majority of his attention to the female by his left side, who looked even more discomfited as she realised that he was doing so. "Why are you all embarrassed?" She chuckled shyly, which made the BMW angrier, and so he yelled, "_Sarah_! What the Hell's wrong with you!?"

She backed away slightly, looking hurt. "I'm just shy around people I don't know."

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?"

Joanne smiled, finally mustering the courage to approach the Car, even though she was still anxious about doing so, she leant on his bonnet and attempted to wrap her arms around him – trying to replicate a hug as best as she could. "There's Tom!" She exclaimed.

This was a distant noise to Eddy, as he continued to glare at the stranger in the water, he looked up briefly as he overheard Tom enquiring what had caused his sudden change in attitude, but soon he continued to look at the foreign creature in the water. He blinked away his tears and whispered just loud enough for them to hear, "Who am I?" He paused, choking and stumbling over his words, "_What_ am I?"

"You're Eddy," was the answer, "and you're a Land Rover Discovery. Why? Had you forgotten? Or wasn't that reflection enough for you to know?"

"But I'm not me." His sadness turned to anger as he stabbed the water angrily with his own tire, "and _that_ is definitely not me!"

Tom stared at him indecorously for what he had just said, before replying in a tone to match his expressions, "Of course it is! What the Hell are you on about!?"

"Think about it," The Land Rover looked up to talk to the Coupe properly, "we are Cars, not humans, which is what we should be, and we don't look like ourselves." He looked back down, sighing as the water settled again and the reflection was back. It seemed as though the shouting of the other anthropomorphic vehicle was a far away mumbles as he continued to stare, his tears rolling off his hood slowly and splashing in the liquid, rippling the water again. It was not until his side was nudged that he became attentive to what was going on in his surroundings.

Then there was a rush of an unknown emotion.

He closed his eyes lightly as the last of his tears rolled down his sides, he backed away and blank expressions were set upon his features like stone. Once again, his tone became deep – as if he was growling – as he said, "I'm fine."

Tom stared at him in bewilderment, his emotions seemed to change so quickly, it was impossible for him to keep up with them. "What's wrong? Something obviously isn't right."

"I said I'm fine!"

"No you're not! You sound like someone just pissed you off. Badly!"

He groaned before leaving the brook and onto the road, leading past Bealstead House, in hope that he would lose the BMW, but he was still persistent that there was something on his mind. "How many times do I have to say it!?" He began his way into the town centre, with the other male following his tracks, he ignored him, until they got to the back of a warehouse, he stopped abruptly in his tracks and glared at him. "Of course I'm not! My best and only friend died because of me, then I didn't escape, therefore she died in vain. Then I get made into a car! Not only a car! The same type that killed my friend! Then I meet _you_, a stubborn, selfish asshole with no manners! I now have to watch you and your best-damned-friend reunite, which reminds me of Rachael!" He growled and smashes a hole in the nearby fence with a wheel.

Tom also growled; he would not allow the Discovery to refer to him in such a manner. "I am _not _selfish! Or stubborn!"

Eddy ignored this, pulling furiously on his wheel in an attempt to get it out. "Oh, for fuck sake!" His yell was louder than he had expected, but events were beginning to grow worse.

"It's all you deserve!" Tom retorted, backing away, "and a true friend wouldn't let their friend be killed!" With that as his last comment, he made his way back to the brook.

The 1993 Land Rover Discovery stared at his wheel in the fence, the overwhelming feeling of anger had passed before dropping onto his axels in sorrow.

* * *

Tom made his way back down the muddy path, glaring to the Mitsubishi fiercely, "Sarah, you coming with me?" She was taken aback slightly by his tone and expression, but did not question the events of which had taken place during the two's absence.

She looked back to where he had come from, awaiting the arrival of her friend, "what about Ed?"

He growled quietly to himself, "Don't worry about him."

"He's not coming?"?

"No. No he's not. So just c'mon!"

Sarah adverted her eyes back to the ground, shuffling her wheel uncomfortably, something was not right about the Car, and she was not going to let it leave her thoughts, "I was only asking." She mumbled.

"Just get back to where we belong." He sounded more infuriated than before.

She frowned at him, this confirmed her worst fears, but she would never except it without a battle. "What?"

"You heard. We're going back to where we were." He glared behind her and to the trees as he added in a low growl, "just before that bastard got us out."

She backed away. The further they were getting into the conversation (although, it was slowly but undoubtedly turning into an argument) the more she feared that her predictions were correct: She was losing him, and Tom was losing himself. "No, something's wrong, I'm sure of it, you're all mad and Eddy's gone."

He glared at her once again, as small growl entering his tone, "What are you trying to imply!? Just stop being such a bitch and hurry _up_!"

"No!" She backed further away, she knew what the stereotypical Car could be like, but not how they acted toward each other, particularly since she still had hold of her sanity. "You've done something to Eddy! I'm sure of it!"

He gritted his teeth in fury. "Look, just get _back_ to where we belong," he moved closer to her slowly, watching her expressions become more uncomfortable at the short distance between them. "And everything will be fine."

She backed away even more, maintaining a vicious eye contact as she said quietly, "How do you know that?" Her anger subsided momentarily as she gasped: it was true. "You're one of them!"

"No I'm not!" He looked away, not wanting to admit the undeniable, he squeezed his eyes shut, but when he looked back, his anger was back, "Just stop asking questions and follow me!"

She turned and began to drive the way she had last seen Eddy going, "Sod off!" She dared to yell at the stranger that she was convinced that she had once knew, but it was not Tom. But a dictating BMW M3 Coupe who was soon following her, she continued to accelerate, attempting desperately to lose him, but did not prevail. She glared to her right as he came next to her, complaining about her attitude. "Why don't you straight out your attitude, asshole!?" She took an unexpected turn left, leaving Tom on his own.

"What's your problem!?" He yelled after, but she did not bother to turn around, instead she continued her getaway. She blinked away her tears, trying to understand all of what had just happened. Eddy was hurt, she was sure, and Tom was to blame. She knew it.

Reality is reality, she told herself, and no amount of wishing would ever be able to change that.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS CHAPTER. Kind of tried to get a rollercoaster of emotions going. Like Shakespeare does. Only not as great. Because no one can beat God.

Also, I want you to kind of... Put a little thought into your reviews. Because I worked SO hard the last couple of days to get this online, I've got a headache because the only way I can concentrate is by loud music. So, yeah... Please?

MUSIC ADDICTION (it's a tradition, y'know?): AVENGED SEVENFOLD. They rock my fluffy socks :3


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